Portion of the Great divide to Oregon coast and down to Mammoth Lakes Sept 2014

[ryankell]

This is my first post. I want to ride from Banff down to Montana and Idaho and then shoot over to Oregon and down into California to end up in Mammoth by Sept 26-27th. I have a lot of back country experience though I have only toured once for a week. I pretty much need advice on Routes, maps, do's and don'ts. Does anyone have any experience in this, suggestions, route to and not to take etc? I was told by one that the Great Divide portion might take to long and to go down from BC through Washington and Oregon. I'm all ears and ready to answer any questions to help you help me better. Ryan

[redtabby]

Ryan,

Take a look at Kent's Bike Blog http://kentsbike.blogspot.com

I know he rode from western WA to Banff as a warm-up for the Tour Divide
one year.  There might be route details in the blog archive.  The good
folks at Adventure Cycling Association can probably help you as well.

People do ride US 97/97A down from Penticton; You might also be able
to research coming down through Invermere on 93/95 and then west on
US 2 by Sandpoint, ID towards Wenatchee and then meet the 97.  I've
only done these as a driver and if it were me I'd look into ACA routes
and maps to minimize highway time through these corridors.

There have been a lot of major forest fires in N. Central WA this summer;
recent rainfall has knocked them back a bit and so hopefully smoke won't
be severe by when you start.  Something to research a bit more once you've
picked a route. 

Safe travels!

-tabby

[JRA]

Check out the various maps available from the Adventure Cycling Association.  I believe they have maps covering the areas you'd like to travel through.
http://www.adventurecycling.org/cyclosource-store/route-maps/